Nothing yet since they are too new.
So far as use goes, the difference of the tutorials I am attempting compared to other tutorials that I have seen is that 1) mine are integrated into the functions of the catalogs. The other tutorials I have seen have to be actively sought out by the patron by getting out of the catalog and going to another site. Mine is an attempt to let people go into a tutorial just by a click. Perhaps a rollover would be just as good (just as they are about to click on a link, a box appears that lets them know there is a tutorial).
2) mine do not deal with functions such as "how to search a name in this particular catalog" or "how to search a title in this particular catalog." Mine are an attempt to show people how to do more useful things with a variety of tools at people's disposal, e.g. how to get automatic citations, how to find a book review, how to use the information in this record to find similar information in other databases online, etc.
We'll see what happens.
Jim
> Do you have any statistics on how many users choose to take advantage of
> these tutorials?
>
> The research I have seen reported is that when tutorials like this are
> offered, very very few users voluntarily take advantage of them.
>
> Jonathan
>
> Weinheimer Jim wrote:
> > All,
> >
> > There has been a thread in several postings about whether we should expect
> people who use a catalog to learn anything or not. Accepting either side has
> huge consequences. The traditional library method of having information
> literacy workshops doesn't work since they are not taken seriously by anybody,
> and people forget everything the moment they leave the room. (That's my
> experience anyway!) Still, I have had some ideas and have put them into
> practice.
> >
> > If you get into my catalog at
> http://www.galileo.aur.it/cgi-bin/koha/opac-main.pl, you will see in the upper
> row something that says: "Take a Two-Minute Tutorial." This leads to
> an (as yet unorganized) list of the tutorials I have made. There will be a lot
> more. You can also click below to reveal the turorials available that relate to
> whatever page you are on. Clicking this invokes an alternate style sheet that
> displays hidden sections. Some are on using specific tools and their quirks
> (Book Review Digest) and others are more general, such as evaluating resources.
> >
> > If you click on any of these, you get some *very basic* tutorials, and I
> am making sure that the 2 minutes really is two minutes or less. So, if you
> look at a specific record, e.g.
> http://www.galileo.aur.it/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?bib=19275 and click on
> "Show tutorials for this page" you will see things about citations,
> retrieving materials, working with online resources, my extend search,
> controlled vocabulary and so on. I also believe that it is important to be able
> to hide the tutorials as well, so I made that an option.
> >
> > So far, people seem to like them and especially the fact that they are two
> minutes or less. If I start to lie and make it 5 or 10 minutes or so, people
> will hesitate to click. Finally, if people want a deeper discussion, they can
> go into my information literacy book placed in the library wiki and I make many
> links into it.
> >
> > Best of all, it's free! I think online training is possible and should not
> simply be dismissed out of hand. I'd be interested in any comments.
> >
> > Jim Weinheimer
> >
> >
Received on Fri Mar 20 2009 - 03:50:42 EDT